Bellows pleat folder attachment for sewing machine



June 12, 1956 Filed June 23, 1953 R. D. CAMPBELL ETAL 2,749,858

BELLOWS PLEAT FOLDER ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1RIC-HARD D.CAr-1Pau.

AMES H .TEAL.

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q A x? "1 g, a as INVENTORS June 12, 1956 R. D. CAMPBELL ETAL 2,749,858

BELLOWS PLEAT FOLDER ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINE Filed June 23, 1953 3Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS 12 ICHARO D.CAMPBELL BY {a JAM; HfTeAL.

Jun 2. 9 6 R. D. CAMPBELL. ETAL 2,749,853

BELLOWS PLEAT FOLDER ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINE Filed June 23, 1953 3Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS '2 \CHARD D.CAM p aeu.

@Jamis .TEAL.

BEnnows PLEAT Boron-n Ar'r cnMaNT F012 SEWING l lichard D. Campbell andlames Teal, Troy, A la assignors to Troy Tex-tiles, Inc Andalusia, Ala,a corporation of Alabama This invention relates to bellows pleat folderattachme'nts for sewing machines and more particularly to such anattachment for a sewing machine at the type normally used for makingbuttonholes in garments. V w t 7 It is among the objects of theinvention to provide a bellows pleat folding attachment mounted on asewing machine of the type used to make buttonholes to enable the sewingmachine to rapidly and accurately provide holding seams across the endsof bellows pleats inpieces of textile material; which can be quickly andeasilvinstalled on a sewing machine with no material modification of thesewing machine construction and will automatically fold bellows pleatsin pieces of textile material to a predetermined width; which will carrythe ends of the folded pleats past the sewing machine needle for theprovision of lines of stitching across the ends of the pleats to holdthe pleats in properly folded condition; which readily releases thepleated pieces of material after the pleats have been stitched; andwhich is simple and durable in construction, economical to manufacture,and eiiective and efficient in use.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a considerationof the following description and the appended claims in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a sewing machine looking from the rearside and the needle end of the machine, showing a pleat foldingattachment illustrative of the invention operatively mounted on themachine;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the machine and pleat foldingattachment looking from the operators end of the machine;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the machine and attachment with portionsof the machine broken away to better illustrate the constructionthereof;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary cross sectional view on the line-4-4 of Figure2; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a garment pocket with a bellows pleatformed therein and stitched in the man"- ner performed by the machineand attachment of the present invention.

With continued reference to the drawings, the sewing machine is a wellknown type of industrial sewing machine manufactured by the SingerSewing Machine Company and designated as their Model 71-31 Bar-TackMachine. The machine has a flat base provided at the: operator endthereof with an opening 11 and at its other end with an upstandingstandard 12 by which the machine head 13 is supported in uprightposition above the opening 11. A needle carrier 14 projects from thebottom end of the head 13 and carriesat its lower eiid a needle 15 whichpasses through the opening in the plat form 16 of the base 10'. Theusual bobbin is mounted in the base below the needle, and the needlearid bobbin are driven from the belt driven drive pulley'17 of themachine in the well known manner. A carrier plate 18 is mounted intheplatfonn 1-6 of the machine base to extend tran's United StatesPatent 2,749,858 Patented June 12, 1956 ice versel y of the base andacross the opening 11 and a work plate '20 is slidably mounted in aguideway provided in the carrier plate '18 intermediate the length ofthis carrier plate ror mavement longitudinally of the base towardandawayfromthe standard 12 of the machine. Reciprocatin'g inovefiient isimparted to the work plate 20 by machine name between the head and thestandard of the machine and is driven from the drive belt pulley of themachine by suitable reduction gearing The fced wheel is provided withcam grooves, one of which is designated at 23, a bell crank lever 24 ispivotally mounted on the base at it's angle by a pivot "pin 25 andhasone end disposed in alignment with the groove 23 and carrying a rollerwhich travels in the groove and rocks the bell crank lever about thepivot pin 25 as the feed wheel 21 is rotated, A link 26 is pivotallyconnected atone end to the work plate 20 and is adjustably connected atits other end to the leg 27 of the bell crank lever 24 for movementtoward and away from thepivotal mounting -25 of the bell crank lever tovary the stroke of the work plate 20 suitable means being provided onthe machine formaking this adjustment. l p t The rotational speed of thefeed wheel 21 issuch that the work plate 23 is moved at a speed inaccordance with the operating speed of the needle 15, so that the needlewill make a line of stitching as a fabric work piece is moved the needleby the movingwork plate, and the length of the stitching or seam made bythe needle is limited the extent of the movement of the work plate 20past the needle. t t g A These machines are normally used for workingbuttonholes in garments and the extent of movement of the work plate 20will be that of the length of the buttonhole which it is desired towork, the needle stitching along the butfonhole as the material is movedpast the needle by the work plate 20 to the desired extent, Suchmachines normally include needle vibrating means for whippingtliestitching back and forth across the edge of a buttonhole, needleturning means for positioning the needleto sewin the reverse directionalong the opposite side of the buttonhole as the work plate is movedback in the opposite direction, lateral moving means connected to thecarrier plate 18 for shifting the needle from one sideto the other ofthe buttonhole, and other devices particularly adapted for the workingof buttonholes; all of which are disconnected, except the work plate 20when the machine is used for the operation of the present invention. Themachine also includes a special presser foot for holding down thematerial around the buttonhole on the work plate and this presser footis also removed when the present attachment is applied to the machineand a differentpresser foot is substituted therefor. As sewing machinesof the character indicated are old and well known to the art, and adetailed description of all of thesewing machine mechanism can bereadily obtained from manufacturers catalogs, a more detailedillustrationand description of the sewing machine, itself, is consideredunnecessary, for the purposes of the present invention.

The pleat folding attachment of the present invention is generallydesignated at 30 and includes a flat attachment plate 31' ofsubstantially rectangular shape having one end overlying the operatorsend of the base platform 16 of the machine and secured to the'wo'rkplate 20 of; the machine by suitable means, such as the screws 32extending through registering apertures in the attachment plate: and thework plate of the machine. The attach'rneiitplate is provided with anopening 33 surround= ing the needle opening 34 in the work plate 20 andextends longitudinally from the space at the front side of the machine,being downwardly curved, as indicated at 36, at its end remote from thework plate 20 of the machine. v

A rib 37 is mounted on the attachment plate 31 and extendslongitudinally of the intermediate portion of the attachment platemedially of the width thereof with one end spaced from, but adjacent tothe opening 33 in the attachment plate 31 and extends perpendicularlyupwardly from the attachment plate and longitudinally of the attachmentplate substantially at right angles to the direction of movement of thework plate 20 of the machine.

A pair of flat, longitudinally curved guides 38 and 39 extend along therib 37 and diverge sharply from the end of this rib remote from the workplate of the machine, being secured at their divergent ends to theattachment plate 31 at the respectively opposite side edges of theattachment plate by suitable means, such as the screw fasteners 40 forthe guide 38 and the screw fasteners 41 for the guide 39. These guidesare disposed at respectively opposite sides of the rib 37 and above andparallel to the attachment plate 31 and converge from their ends securedto the attachment plate at the respectively opposite side edges of thelatter to the end of the rib 37 nearest the work plate of the machine,and are convexly of the edges of the guides 38 and 39 nearest the outerend of the attachment plate 31 to facilitate passing work pieces oftextile material under the guides.

A flat bar 45 is mounted on the edge of the rib 37 remote from theattachment plate 31 and is disposed above the guides 38 and 39 andparallel to the attachment plate.

This bar has a width equal to the desired width of the bellows pleat tobe folded by the attachment and the rib 37 is disposed medially of thewidth of the bar 45 and extends longitudinally thereof. The end of thebar nearest the work plate 20 of the machine is substantiallycoterminous with the corresponding end of the rib, but the opposite endof the bar projects outwardly beyond the adjacent end of the rib 37 andis symmetrically tapered in Width, as indicated at 46, to facilitate thefolding of material around this bar to provide a bellows fold.

In order to provide a bellows fold, a work piece of textile material,such as the pocket 47 illustrated in Figure 5, is placed on the outerend portion of the attachment plate 31 to extend longitudinally of theattachment plate and the center portion of the end of this work piecenearest the work plate of the machine is placed over the tapered, outerend 46 of the bar 45. The corners of the work piece, nearest the workplate of the machine, are then placed under the guides 38 and 39 and theWork piece is moved along the bar 45 and the guides 38 and 39 toward thework plate of the machine, the guides folding the material in under thebar 45 as the work piece is advanced, providing a bellows fold in thework piece, as indicated at 48 in Figure 5.

Since the pleat forming attachment and its attachment plate 31 arecarried by the Work plate 20 for movement in the reciprocating path ofthe work plate 20, a line of stitching will be formed across the end ofthe bellows fold moved under the needle 15 upon operation of themachine. The bar 45, guides 38 and 39 along with their respectiveupstanding flanges 42 and 43, are caglied by the attachment plate 31 formovement there- W1 Gauges 50 and 51 in the form of rails of rightangular cross sectional shape are adjustably mounted on the attachmentplate 31 at respectively opposite sides of the assembly including theguides 38 and 39, the bar and the rib 37, and extend along the portionof this assembly between the attached ends of the guides and the ends ofthe guide nearest the work plate of the machine.

These gauges are adjustably movable toward and away from the adjacentedges of the bar 45 to provide means for properly centering the workpieces relative to the folding bar and the guides, so that fire pleatfolds will be provided at the desired locations transversely of thefabric work pieces.

In order to provide a suitable presser foot for the pleat stitchingoperation of the machine, a bracket 55 is mounted on the attachmentplate 31 at the corner of this plate disposed at the rear side of themachine and nearest the standard 12, and this bracket extends upwardlyfrom the attachment plate. A hinge structure 56 has one side 57 thereofmounted on the foot of the bracket 55 and its other side 58 disposedabove the side 57 and pivotally connected to the latter for movementrelative to the side 57 about an axis which is disposed above andsubstantially parallel to the attachment plate 31 and substantially atright angles to the direction of movement of the work plate 20 of themachine. A flat bar 60 is secured intermediate its length on the top ofthe hinge part or side 58 and extends to the location of the machineneedle 15. This bar is formed in two pieces having an adjustable lengthconnection 61 therebetween for adjusting the position of the baradjacent the needle relative to the needle, and a U-shaped presser foot62 is mounted on the end of the bar 60 nearest the needle by a pivotalconnection 63 which extends transversely of the corresponding endportion of the bar and permits the presser foot to rock in a manner tobe presently indicated.

The presser foot 62 is connected at the mid-length location of its bightportion 64 to the adjacent end of the pivot pin of the pivotalconnection 63 and has legs 65 and 66 extending perpendicularly from thebight portion 64 and spaced apart longitudinally of the supporting bar60. The legs 65 and 66 are spaced apart a distance slightly greater thanthe width of the bar 45 of the folding attachment and are positioned toengage the extreme edges of a bellows pleat folded on the attachment atthe corresponding ends of the pleat and hold the edges of the pleatfirmly down on the work plate 20 of the machine while the stitching isbeing made across the end of the pleat.

A leaf spring 68 is secured at one end to the upper end of the bracket55 and extends longitudinally of the bar 60 toward the end of the barcarrying the presser foot 62. A bearing block 69 is mounted on the bar60 at the end of the spring 68 remote from the bracket 55 and the spring68 bears down on this hearing block to exert downward pressure on thepresser foot 62.

At its ends remote from the presser foot 62, the bar 60 extends under aroller 70 journaled in a bearing 71 adjustably mounted on a verticallydisposed shaft 72, the upper end of which is secured to a lever arm 73which is rotatably mounted by bearings 74 on a horizontally disposedshaft 75 secured on the machine standard 12 to provide freedom ofvertical movement of the vertically disposed shaft 72. At its lower endthe shaft 72 passes slidably through an aperture in a lug 76 mounted onthe machine base, and the roller 70 bears on the bar 60 in a manner toraise the presser foot 62 away from the fabric work piece when the shaft72 is forced downwardly.

A lever 78 is pivotally mounted at one end on the shaft 75 and extendsoutwardly from this shaft substantially parallel to the lever arm 73 andoutwardly ofthe outer end of this lever arm. The lever arm 73 isprovided at the upper end of the shaft 72 with a notch 80 and the lever78 carries a pin 81 which engages in the notch 80 in the lever arm 73. Achain 83 is connected at its upper end to the outer end of the lever 78,as indicated at 84, and extends downwardly through an aperture 85 in themachine supporting table to a foot treadle mounted below the table.

Withthis arrangement, when the operator has completed a line ofstitching across an end of a bellows pleat in a fabric work piece, theoperator depresses the foot amass-s pedal, pulling downwardlyonthefchain 83 and raising the presser foot 62 from the materialthroughthe intermediacy of the above described mechanism and against theforceof the spring 68: The work piece can now be moved forwardly across thework plate; of the machine and withdrawn fromthe mach-ine at the backside of the machine, and a newwor-kpiece placed on the pleatfoldingattachment in amanner to providea bellows pleat therein, as describedabove. As soon as the end of the pleat in the new work piece ispositioned beneath the needle of the machine, the foot pedal isreleased, permitting the presser foot to be forced downwardly by thespring 68 to hold the work piece firmly in position on the work plate ofthe machine and the operation of the machine is then continued totraverse the newly formed pleat with a line of stitching.

Most of these machines stop automatically at the completion of a singlerotation of the feed wheel 21 and also have thread cutting means whichautomatically cut the thread at the end of each cycle of operation ofthe machine. In the present arrangement, the machine may be run througha complete cycle, if desired, thereby providing a double line ofstitching across the end of each pleat or, if desired, means may beprovided for stopping the machine at each half cycle of its operation,so that a different pleat will be stitched for each movement of the workplate of the machine and only one line of stitching will be placedacross each pleat.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects asillustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention beingindicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription, and all changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embracedtherein.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a sewing machine having a base with an opening atone end and a standard at its other end, a head supported by saidstandard above said opening, a needle carrier extending from the bottomend of said head and carrying a needle movable through said opening, awork plate slidably mounted on said base in closing relationship to saidopening, and means connected to said work plate reciprocably moving thelatter toward and away from said standard and relative to said needle,of a pleat folder attachment comprising an attachment plate secured atone end to said work plate for movement therewith and extendinglaterally therefrom, a rib mounted at one edge on said attachment platemedially of the width of said plate and extending upwardly therefrom andlongitudinally thereof substantially at right angles to the direction ofmovement of said work plate, longitudinally curved guides mounted at oneend on and disposed above said attachment plate adjacent one end thereofremote from said work plate with a guide disposed at each side of saidrib and convexly converging from locations spaced from said one end ofsaid rib toward the end of said rib adjacent said work plate, a barcarried by and extending longitudinally of said rib above said guidesand substantially parallel to said attachment plate, said bar having awidth equal to the desired width of the bellows pleat with its widthdisposed medially of said rib and having a tapered end portion at theend thereof remote from said work plate whereby pieces of materialdisposed over the tapered end portion of said bar and under the adjacentportions of said guides will be folded about said bar to form a bellowspleat as the piece of material is moved toward said Work plate and oneend of the pleat thus formed will be disposed above the work plate andmoved past the needle to stitch the end of the pleat as the work plateis moved.

2. In combination with a sewing machine having a flat base of elongatedshape having an opening at one end and a standardat its other end, ahead supported by said standard above said; opening, a needle carrierextendplate and extending upwardly therefrom and longitudinally thereofsubstantially at right angles to the direction of movement of said workplate, longitudinally curved guides carried by and disposed above saidattachment plate one at each side of said rib and convexly convergingfrom locations spaced from the end of said rib remote from said workplate toward the end of said rib adjacent said work plate, an elongatedflat bar carried by and extending longitudinally of said rib above saidguides and substantially parallel to said attachment plate, said barhaving a width equal to the desired width or" the bellows pleat with itswidth disposed medially of said rib and having a tapered end portion atthe end thereof remote from said work plate whereby pieces of materialdisposed over the tapered end portion of said bar and under the adjacentportions of said guides will be folded about said bar to form a bellowspleat as the piece of material is moved toward said work plate and oneend of the pleat thus formed will be disposed above the work plate andmoved past the needle to stitch the end of the pleat as the work plateis moved, and a pair of gauge bars, each of said bars adjustably mountedon said attachment plate at a location spaced from the opposite sides ofsaid bar for centering Work pieces in said attachment relative to saidbar.

3. A pleat folding attachment for a sewing machine comprising asubstantially flat generally rectangular attachment plate provided withan opening for receiving a needle therethrough and adapted to beconnected at one end in overlying relation to a sewing machine workplate and to extend laterally from the latter with its longitudinal axisperpendicular to the line of feed, a pleat folding means mounted on saidattachment plate and adapted to be disposed entirely to one side of thesewing machine needle and to extend longitudinally from the needle andperpendicular to the line of feed, said means comprising a rib extendingmedially longitudinally along said attachment plate and perpendicularlytherefrom with one end thereof adapted to be disposed adjacent theneedle, a bar secured on said rib to extend longitudinally thereof inspaced parallel relation to said attachment plate with said rib disposedmedially of the width of said bar, and longitudinally curved barsfixedly mounted on the upper surface of said attachment plate anddisposed longitudinally of and spaced from respectively opposite sidesof said rib and diverging from said rib in a direction away from theother end of the rib.

4. A pleat folding attachment for a sewing machine comprising asubstantially fiat generally rectangular attachment plate provided withan opening for receiving a needle therethrough and adapted to beconnected at one end in overlying relation to a sewing machine workplate and to extend laterally from the latter with its longitudinal axisperpendicular to the line of feed, a pleat folding means mounted on saidattachment plate and adapted to be disposed entirely to one side of thesewing machine needle and to extend longitudinally from the needle andperpendicular to the line of feed, said means comprising a rib extendingmedially longitudinally along said attachment plate and perpendicularlytherefrom with one end thereof adapted to be disposed adjacent theneedle, a bar secured on said rib to extend longitudinally thereof inspaced parallel relation to said attachment plate with said .and spacedfrom respectively opposite sides of said rib and diverging from said ribin a direction away from the .Other end of the rib, the end of said ribprojecting 0utwardly beyond said other end of said bar being tapered -inwidth to facilitate the folding of material around said rib and said barprovide a bellows fold.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS416,182 Osterhout Dec. 3, 1889 8 Sauber Mar. 31, 1891 Mofiatt Dec. 28,1915 De Voe Aug. 14, 1917 Miller Dec. 12, 1922 Allen Jan. 5, 1932Kierner May 27, 1941 Faulkner June 20, 1950 Rich Oct. 30, 1951

